Scotland's World Cup foes Morocco lose AFCON final amid chaos as Senegal walk off pitch and panenka missed
Manager tells team to come off before hosts miss penalty to win tournament
Scotland’s World Cup opponents Morocco lost the Africa Cup of Nations final in chaotic circumstances after going down to a 1-0 defeat by Senegal.
The hosts’ clash with the Senegalese was on the brink of going into to extra time but deep into added-on time, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala from DR Congo was advised by VAR to check an incident in the penalty box where Abdoulaye Seck of Senegal and Morocco forward Brahim Diaz clashed.
After review, Ndala deemed that Seck had his arms around Diaz’s neck and that he had pulled the Moroccan to the ground. The decision to award a penalty prompted a furious reaction from the Senegal players, with manager Pape Thiaw demanding that his players left the pitch at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat.
After some minutes of debate, the majority of the Senegal team headed back into the dressing-room, with forward Sadio Mane one of the few players to remain on the field of play as he gestured for his teammates to come back on.
The levels of injustice were heightened after Ndala had ruled out a Senegal goal at the start of stoppage time for a foul in the build-up.
The Senegal squad returned a few minutes later and Diaz stepped up to take the penalty in the 114th minute, sending a weak panenka straight into the hands of Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy. The referee then blew for full time.
Three minutes into extra time, Senegal took a sensational lead when Pape Gueye rifled home an unstoppable effort to put the Lions de la Teranga ahead amid boos from the home crowd. Diaz was then substituted in tears.
Play raged from end to end in a gripping end to the contest, with Senegal holding on to lift the trophy and inflicting a rare defeat on the host nation, who were the pre-tournament favourites.
Morocco are in Group C of the World Cup alongside Scotland, Haiti and Brazil. They are due to face the Scots on Friday, June 19 at Gillette Stadium in Boston.
En route to the final, Walid Regragui’s side had gone through AFCON undefeated and reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But this defeat will raise questions over the head coach’s long-term future given the expectation of Morocco to win AFCON.
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